sonicwfandomcom-20200216-history
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004 film)
| starring = F. Murray Abraham Kathy Bates Gabriel Byrne Geraldine Chaplin Robert De Niro Harvey Keitel Pilar López de Ayala | music = Lalo Schifrin | cinematography = Javier Aguirresarobe | editing = Kant Pan | distributor = Fine Line Features | released = | runtime = 120 minutes | country = France Spain United Kingdom | language = English | budget = $24 million | gross = $1.8 million }} 'The Bridge of San Luis Rey' is a 2004 drama film directed by Mary McGuckian and featuring an ensemble cast . It is based on Thornton Wilder's novel of the same name. The film was released in 2004 in Spain and 2005 in the U.S. and abroad. Despite praise for its costume design, the film was poorly received by critics.Metacritic.com Plot synopsis The film centers on a basic premise: near Lima, Peru, at noon of Friday, 20 July 1714, a bridge woven by the Incas a century earlier collapsed at that particular moment, while five people were crossing it: Doña María, the Marquess of Montemayor; Pepita, her lady in attendance; Esteban, a scribe; Uncle Pío; and a young child. The collapse was witnessed by Brother Juniper, a Franciscan monk, who was on his way to cross it. Curious about why God would allow such a tragedy, he decides to take a scientific approach to the question. He set out to interview everyone he can find who knew the five victims. Over the course of six years, he has managed to compile a huge book, coming to the question whether we live our lives according to a plan or if there is no such thing as a bigger scheme. Background and production The film and novel are very loosely based on the life of Micaela Villegas (1748—1819), a famous Peruvian entertainer known as ''La Perricholi, whose life was also the inspiration for the novella Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée, an opéra bouffe, La Périchole by Jacques Offenbach, Jean Renoir’s 1953 film Le Carrosse d'or (The Golden Coach), and two earlier film versions: a 1929 silent version, The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929) starring Lili Damita, and a 1944 version, The Bridge of San Luis Rey starring Lynn Bari, Francis Lederer, Akim Tamiroff, and Alla Nazimova. The 2004 film was shot on location in Málaga, Andalucía, and Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. It is the only one of the three versions made on location, and the only one to use the novel's original, shocking ending. Cast * F. Murray Abraham as the Viceroy of Peru * Kathy Bates as the Marquesa * Gabriel Byrne as Brother Juniper * Geraldine Chaplin as the Abbess * Robert De Niro as the Archbishop of Lima * Émilie Dequenne as Doña Clara * Adriana Domínguez as Pepita * Harvey Keitel as Uncle Pio * Pilar López de Ayala as Micaela Villegas (La Perichole) * John Lynch as Captain de Alvarado * Mark Polish as Manuel * Michael Polish as Esteban * Jim Sheridan as The King of Spain * Dominique Pinon as His Excellency's fop Reception The film was resoundingly panned on release. On review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 'rotten' 4% with the consensus: 'Despite an all-star cast and some impressive visuals, The Bridge of San Luis Rey is a lifeless, slow-going adaptation of Thornton Wilder's classic novel.'http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10002635-bridge_of_san_luis_rey/ Stephen Garrett of Time Out said 'Why do good actors pop up in bad movies? More perplexingly, why do so many good actors end up in the same bad movie?',http://www.timeout.com/us/film/the-bridge-of-san-luis-rey while Desson Thomas of The Washington Post wrote 'Even though director-adaptor Mary McGuckian expended much creative energy trying to pump original spirit into the characters, she never brings any of them to life'.https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/09/AR2005060901270.html References External links * * * Category:2004 films Category:Spanish films Category:French films Category:British films Category:British historical films Category:French historical films Category:Spanish historical films Category:Spanish independent films Category:2000s drama films Category:2000s historical films Category:Films based on American novels Category:Films set in Peru Category:Films set in the 1710s Category:French independent films Category:British independent films Category:British drama films Category:Film scores by Lalo Schifrin